Ken Hayashi Shares His Thoughts on Keiro

In the early days of Keiro Senior HealthCare, Ken Hayashi assisted CEO Edwin Hiroto, a personal friend and mentor, with management and accounting. Below are his recollections of those early years:

Establishing Keiro
By Ken Hayashi

When I first started, Keiro Nursing Home was a brand new building and a brand new concept for the community. At the time, there were no nursing facilities that provided for both the language and dietary needs of the Issei and older Nisei. The nursing home program was new to us and the industry did not have a great reputation. Initially, the Japanese community incorrectly viewed a nursing home either as a place to die or as a retirement home. We were determined to change that, at least at Keiro. Ken Hayashi speaks at Keiro’s 45th anniversary celebration in 2006.

Resident care programs were designed around getting patients up, out of bed and as active physically and mentally as they could tolerate. Cleanliness of the facility was a point of emphasis. But the most important thing that Keiro provided was human dignity. Everyone working at Keiro, including the volunteers, took the meaning of Keiro to heart. “Respected elders” was the culture of Keiro and the residents could feel that.

As a boss and mentor, Edwin Hiroto let us do our jobs and grow both as managers and people. It was a very exciting time as it was the dawn of the digital age. Some of the machines we acquired then were the first of their kind to be commercially available. We worked hard but it was fun to work with other motivated people, for a supportive boss and for what we all considered a good cause.

As Keiro celebrates its 50th anniversary, I hope that it remains relevant to community needs for the next 50 years. Defining the “community” may be the most difficult task.

Read more Reflections on 50 Years.